You know that drinking water is good for you, but did you know that every system in your body depends on water? Here are 10 reasons why drinking water is good for you and why you should make drinking 8-10 glasses of water part of your daily routine.

1. Get healthy skin. Drinking water moisturizes your skin from the inside out. Water is essential to maintaining elasticity and suppleness and helps prevent dryness.

2. Lose weight. Increased water consumption can help you control weight by preventing you from confusing hunger with thirst. Water will also keep your body systems, including metabolism and digestion, working properly and give you the energy (and hydration) necessary for exercise.

3. Flush toxins. By helping to flush toxins, appropriate water intake
lessens the burden on your kidneys and liver.

4. Reduce your risk of a heart attack. Researchers at Loma Linda University in California studied more than 20,000 healthy men and women and found that people who drink more than five glasses of water a day were less likely to die from a heart attack or heart disease than those who drank fewer than two glasses a day.

5. Cushion and lube your joints and muscles. Water makes up a large part of the fluid that lubricates and cushions your joints and muscles. Drinking water before, during, and after exercise can also help reduce muscle cramping and premature fatigue.

6. Stay regular. Water helps prevent constipation by adding fluid to the colon and bulk to stools, making bowel movements softer and easier to pass.

7. Stay hydrated, get energized, and be alert. On average, most adults lose about 10 cups of fluid a day through sweating, exhaling, urinating, and bowel movements. Even minor dehydration can cause impaired concentration, headaches, irritability, and fatigue.

8. Regulate your body temperature. Perspiration is your body’s natural mechanism to control body temperature. And to sweat, you need plenty of water.

9. Reduce your risk of disease and infection. Water can help prevent kidney stones and reduce your chances of getting bladder, kidney, and urinary tract infections. One study found that women who drank more than five glasses of water a day had a risk of colon cancer that was 45 percent less than those who drank two or fewer glasses a day.

10. Get well. The traditional prescription to “drink plenty of fluids” when you’re sick still holds strong. Water can help control a fever, replace lost fluids, and thin out mucus.

Sources: www.WebMD.com, www.mayoclinic. com, www.water.com